Graduate Student Highlights

Christina Wilson, ADDL toxicology graduate student, received an hristina award for the best graduate student scientific presentation for her research in species comparisons of vitamin K1, 2, 3 epoxide reductase disease. The award was presented at the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnostician’s annual meeting in Hershey, Pennsylvania, November, 2001. The disease causes occasional outbreaks of hemorrhagic syndrome in pigs, a disease that can cause the animal to bleed excessively as a result of even minor injuries. A commonly used immediate treatment is the administration of Vitamin K. This, however, does not fully solve the problem. One way to keep animals from contracting the illness may be to change or improve their feed. Research is ongoing at ADDL as to what role feed may play in the disease.

Ingeborg Langohr, an ADDL pathology graduate student, earned first place for her West Nile virus presentation at the North Central Conference for Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, in June, 2002. The emerging disease has been a major health issue since 1999. Dr. Langohr explained the examination of lesions on a 5-year-old mare’s spinal cord in talking about the impact of West Nile on horses.

Alok Sharma, also an ADDL pathology graduate student, earned third place at the same conference for his research presentation on abnormal movement of Fascioloides Magna in the spinal cord of an elk. He found the lesions were associated with liver disease.